What is Coaching?

Why the Coaching Industry is Booming – and why therapists are the best positioned professionals to dominate this cutting-edge industry

"…in the next few years, coaching will become the norm in the business world." - The Washington Post

According to U.S. News and World Report, the profession of coaching (sometimes called Personal Coaching or Life Coaching), is the second biggest consulting business, second only to management consulting.

What exactly is coaching – and why has the industry attained such record growth?
Coaching entails working with people who already have a measure of “success” in their lives, but who want to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be in their profession and their personal life. This is much like a trainer who helps an athlete win the “gold medal” – not just be in the race. Coaches help their clients design the life they want, bring out their clients’ own brilliance and resources so that they can achieve excellence and create purposeful, extraordinary lives.

The demand for coaching came into being when stressed out executives started seeking help in coping with their professional and personal lives. In addition, as companies started downsizing and outplacing, and baby boomers started turning 50, coaches were hired to ease traumatic transitions and to help people get back on track. While coaching is still most prevalent in the corporate environment, individuals are increasingly turning to coaches for help in enhancing all aspects of their lives.

"Coaching is the number two growth industry right behind IT (Information Technology) jobs, and it’s the number one home-based profession." - Start-Ups Magazine

Therapists are probably the most well-positioned professionals to transition into this exciting and personally enriching business. That’s because they already have the requisite skills for effective coaching (such as listening, building rapport, encouraging, facilitating change, empathy and objectivity) that they can easily translate into coaching.

Therapists who learn the business of personal coaching will find that they really enjoy their clients, earn higher incomes, and even have a level of friendship and community that is neither proper nor possible in traditional psychotherapy.

We want coaching to permeate all levels of society and many of our students charge less for services to the lower income clients or agencies.

Tele-coaching (coaching by phone) is the most recent trend in coaching. Because it is not dependent on geography, coaches find that they can build their coaching business anywhere … it’s portable, convenient and is more confidential than traditional therapy. As an added bonus, you work with highly motivated (as opposed to problematic) people who want to build better lives.

Distinction Between Coaching and Therapy
Psychotherapy generally deals with emotional/behavioral problems and disruptive situations – and seeks to bring the client to normal function by focusing on his dysfunction. Therapy is usually done in-person, although at times, it may be done over the telephone.

Coaching deals with functional persons who want to move toward higher function – and achieve excellence while creating an extraordinary life. Coaching is a process similar to solution-focused techniques that therapists use for less serious psycho-emotional problems and life stresses. But coaching goes beyond problem solving and co-creates a life for the client that is purposeful and focused.

The coaching paradigm that we teach at the Institute for Life Coach Training treats the whole person, not the dysfunction – and we believe this is the most powerful therapy on earth. When you empower a person and show him what he can do – instead of focusing on what he can’t do (weakness) – you can improve his overall mental health and his life dramatically.

Dr. Patrick Williams (Master Certified Coach) and his team of instructors have mentored hundreds of therapists, counselors, mental health professionals, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists who were interested in adding coaching to their practice or becoming full-time coaches. Dr. Williams founded Therapist University in 1998 (later renamed the Institute for Life Coach Training), the first-of-its-kind training institute that specializes in training therapists in building a successful coaching business.

The Institute provides the quickest way for a therapist to translate his/her skills into coaching skills in as little as 40 hours of tele-classes (spread out over 20 weeks). Click here to view a detailed course description.

Or you can give us a call toll-free at 888-267-1206 or email us for more information on how you can quickly learn how to use your professional skills in coaching, have more fun, have a successful coaching practice … and a life!